Updated 11:20 p.m.

The Coast Guard reported finding kayaks belonging to two missing kayakers late tonight several miles south of their destination, Ram Island. One of the kayaks was overturned.

Paul Connor, a civilian search and rescue controller with the Coast Guard, confirmed that the womens’ kayaks were found floating near Richmond Island – an island off Crescent Beach State Park in Cape Elizabeth – around 8:30 p.m.
Richmond Island is about five miles south of Ram Island.

One of the kayaks was upright and contained a jacket and t-shirt. The second kayak was overturned, Connor said.
Ground search teams looked for the women on Cushing and Ram islands, but could not locate them.

By late tonight, the ground search had shifted to Richmond Island and possible landing areas in Cape Elizabeth including the area around Portland Head Light.

“We are lighting off flares tonight to help with the search,” Connor said.

 

8:20 p.m.

SOUTH PORTLAND — The U.S. Coast Guard is searching Casco Bay tonight for two missing kayakers.

Petty Officer Etta Smith identified the kayakers as 18-year-old Irena McEntee and 20-year-old Carissa Ireland, both of Peaks Island.

Both women were last seen leaving Peaks Island around 1:30 p.m. heading toward Ram Island in 12-foot-long, greenish-blue kayaks.
Smith said the kayakers were wearing life jackets. Ram Island is home to Ram Island Ledge Light, a lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places.

A Falcon jet and Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod are enroute to Maine to assist with the search. The Coast Guard cutter Campbell, a 270-foot vessel based in Kittery, is also involved in the search.

The current water temperature is 46 degrees with winds about 15 mph. Seas are about 1 foot.

“We are reaching out to the community tonight, hoping for some leads to help with the search,” said Lt. Lisa Ceraolo, command duty officer for Coast Guard Sector Northern New England.

Anyone with information about the case should contact the South Portland station at 767-0303.